In one aspect, this invention relates to a fiber reinforced plastic article. In another aspect, the invention relates to a process for forming a fiber reinforced plastic article.
Sporting goods such as baseball bats and bowling pins have traditionally been formed from wood. However, wood is not an entirely satisfactory material of construction for articles such as these. Both bats and bowling pins are subject to splintering when struck at high speed. Furthermore, a bat formed from wood has a relatively small, less than 0.1 inch, "sweet spot", where contact with a ball will result in maximum energy transfer. In a bat, the sweet spot can be made larger by shifting the center of gravity toward the handle end of the bat. However, the center of gravity can be shifted only a limited amount with wood prior to the bat's strength dropping off to dangerously low levels. With synthetics, the center of gravity can be shifted a great deal more and the bat can be made longer as well, up to 42 inches, to provide a "sweet spot" of over 3 inches. The performance and durability of some sporting goods thus can be dramatically improved by construction with fiber reinforced plastics.